Now as she stood there with her heart breaking, Molly realized she wouldn’t be doing any Christmas shopping today. She had to get out of here before she really did break down in tears.
She turned and made herself walk away. Keep your eyes on the housewares—that department always has beautiful displays. It’s…safe. She’d almost escaped from the baby department when she saw the teddy bears with embroidered eyes and noses, plump bellies and plush fur.
A broken sound escaped her.
This isn’t only Cait’s baby. It’s Trevor’s, too, and Richard’s. And mine. Mine! How can we let this baby go?
She was almost running by the time she reached the double glass exit doors that would let her escape to the parking lot.
* * *
RICHARD HAD TALKED TO Molly a couple of times since the big blowup, but they didn’t try to get together.
“Let’s give the kids time to adjust,” she had suggested, and he couldn’t argue. The fact that Trevor was home again and Cait apparently hadn’t thrown a major hissy fit were steps in the right direction. He shouldn’t let himself get greedy.
Now, if Molly had said anything about postponing their relationship beyond a week or so, then he’d have argued. Damn it, he wanted them to spend Christmas together, as a family! But his patience was eroding faster than he’d expected. Within days of not seeing her, he was already suffering withdrawal symptoms.
Richard had driven Trevor to school the morning after his return, even though he knew that it wasn’t necessary. Molly came out of her office when he spoke briefly to the school secretary, who handed Trevor a pass. She wore one of her suits, the jacket of which nipped in enough at the waist to emphasize her magnificent breasts. Richard doubted she was aware of the effect.
Her cheeks were a little bit pink when she smiled at Trevor. She was undoubtedly remembering the last time she’d seen him—and he’d seen her. “I’m glad you’re back,” she told him. “Does Coach Bowman know?”
Dark color had risen into his cheeks, too, and he shuffled his feet and seemed to have acquired a few twitches. “Uh, yeah. Dad called him last night.”
“And?”
“He’s benching me Friday.”
“I’ll bet he hates to do that.”
“Yeah.” Trevor flashed her a grin. “He’s really mad at me. He says he’ll be even madder if we lose.”
“I hope there won’t be a repeat.”
“There won’t be, Ms. Callahan.” Richard was proud of the way his son looked her in the eye despite his embarrassment.
“Good. You’d better hurry if you’re going to beat the bell,” she said.
She’d walked Richard out to the parking lot, giving him a chance to tell her more than he had last night on the phone about what Trevor had said.
“Poor Trevor.” She’d sighed. “And then for him to catch us....”
“Yeah. He gets the difference between us and what his mother was doing, but…”
That’s when she suggested they cool it for a few days. He didn’t like the idea, but knew it was smart. He needed to concentrate on Trevor. On making what understanding they’d arrived at solid.
He risked everything, though, that evening after dinner. “I think you ought to call your mother.”
Trevor’s chair scraped the floor as he reared back. “What?”
“You heard me. I don’t mean this instant.” Seeing the rebellion on his face, Richard continued. “Listen to me for a minute. I know how you feel. I know you’re angry, and I know you may never feel quite the same about her. But the fact is, she’s still your mother. She loves you, and you love her.” He let what he’d said settle. “She was scared when I had to tell her you’d taken off on your own. You don’t need to see her until you’re ready, but it wouldn’t hurt to say, ‘Sleeping with other men when you were married was really lousy. Sleeping with my coach, letting me catch you in bed with him, that stinks. But you’re my mom, and I love you.’”
He waited.
Trevor’s dark eyes were unhappy. “I’ll think about it,” he said after a minute.
Richard smiled at him. “That’s all I ask.” He stood up to clear the table, and as he circled it he squeezed his son’s shoulder. “You scared me, too.”
Trev stood and collected some dirty dishes. “It wasn’t cool, the way I took off.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
What crossed Richard’s mind was something of a surprise. It was the knowledge that, while Alexa had definitely screwed up, she’d also done a lot of things right by their kids. He wasn’t sure he’d told her that often enough.